Lyor Cohen Shares His Thoughts on State of YouTube + Streaming

In a blog post published last night on the YouTube official blog, the company’s new Head of Music, Lyor Cohen posted five of his observations on the music business. Cohen has been at YouTube for about 8 months, and before that was a significant power in the music industry – the man behind a number of huge artists like Young Thug.

In the blog post, Cohen spoke about the issue of “safe harbor laws” which protect internet service providers from being liable for user generated content that infringes copyright. He called the controversy around them “a distraction” saying that the laws have helped make the industry “more competitive and vibrant.”

Cohen also said that YouTube may be late to the subscription game (with it’s new YouTube Red platform), but that in terms of streaming revenue it pays more than any other ad supported platform in the U.S. – $3 per 1000 streams. Recently YouTube received scrutiny after an RIAA report stated they only paid $1 compared to Spotify and Apple’s $7.

Deviant Noise is a one-stop-shop for the tools and resources you need to become a professional rapper, singer, songwriter or music producer. We want to help you build your career. Visit us today to learn more.